Sometimes the Best Isn't Good Enough
by Storm Princess
Summary: This is the fights Mary Jane and Peter had in SM3 told in Peter's POV. This is my first fanfic so please read and review! No longer a oneshot!
1. The Review

**Sometimes the Best Isn't Good Enough**

Disclaimer: I don't own Peter Parker, Mary Jane, or the police scanner.

I felt bad. Mary Jane seemed to be so crushed over this review. I was trying to make her feel better but nothing seemed to be working. "You can't take it personal, I told her. I know how you feel. Spider-Man gets attacked all the ti-"

"Spider-Man isn't your real name! She snapped. At least you have something to hide behind. I don't! And this isn't about you it's about me and my career!" Jeez.

I know MJ thinks that my advice doesn't apply because I have a secret identity, but Jonah Jameson's attacks get so personal sometimes, that sometimes it feels like he's attacking me, Peter Parker. And it does hurt a little to think that most people don't really appreciate what I do as Spider-Man. But how could I find a way to explain that to Mary Jane? I tried a different tactic.

"I know. Exactly. And all you have to do is believe in yourself and get right back up on that…"

"Don't give me the horse thing. Try to understand how I feel."

I tried. But I couldn't understand why she was so crushed over just one review.

MJ sighed, obviously seeing I wasn't getting it. "I look at these words and it's like my father wrote them."

Ohhh. Now I understood why she was so upset. Her father tore her down every opportunity he had. He never supported her ambition to be an actress and was her first and loudest critic. She wanted so desperately to prove him wrong and now it looked like he was right. At least in her eyes. I needed to be able to tell her I now understood and I was there for her.

And wouldn't you know the police scanner chose that moment to go off. Apparently there's a crane accident and people are in danger. I do feel bad for MJ, but I can't just let people die because of that. She still seems upset, so I try one last attempt at humor before I go. "Go get them tiger?" I asked hopefully. She just sadly nodded. "I'm sorry," I said softly, not just referring to the interruption but also to the review.

Then I change into my costume. Just before I go I ask her if she'd wait for me. No response, so I leave feeling torn up inside. I hate the way she was looking at me so full of hurt. I was giving my best and it just wasn't good enough. I tell myself it'll be okay. I'll work it out with her and everything will be fine. After all she can't be that shattered over one review. Could she?


	2. Jealousy

Chapter 2

Jealousy

Okay, note to self. From now on, don't kiss college girls in public as Spider-Man. Mary Jane was just starting to get over being mad at me for the review, well not technically like that but that's the best way _I _know how to describe it. And bonehead me goes and kisses Gwen Stacey. Jeez.

She was really angry at me now, I could tell by the icy look on her face, and what bugged me the most was that this time I deserved it. I spoke up, trying to defuse the icy atmosphere between us. "What?" I knew exactly what I had done, but I figure if I could draw her out and let her vent, she could get over it and I would be able to propose to her.

She shrugged. "How come you never mentioned her? She's your lab partner. You saved her live, she thinks you're a genius, and she had her polished fingernails all over you, or didn't you notice? And she gave Spider-Man the key to the city. I'll never forget that."

Okay, maybe I deserved that. I can understand her being upset about a kiss, a lousy review, but Gwen being friendly? That's all she was doing here. Couldn't Mary Jane see that? Had her confidence been so shattered by that review that it blinded her to everything else? It was just one lousy review!

And to tell you the truth, I was reaching a point where I _really _didn't appreciate getting the third degree. I kept the edge out of my voice when I finally spoke up, not wanting to exacerbate matters. "She's… just a girl in my class." What am I, an idiot? I didn't even believe it when I said it like that. Apparently she didn't either.

"Let me ask you something. When you kissed her, who was kissing her? Spider-Man or Peter?"

"What do you mean?" I could see the venom in her eyes when she mentioned my alter-ego. Recently she seemed to hate me as Spider-Man. Whenever I tried to bring it up lately; she'd either cut me off or glare at me, as if silently punishing me for even bringing it up.

"Peter, you know exactly what I mean! That was _our_ kiss. Why would you do that? You must have known how that would make me feel." Tears brimmed in her eyes. "Do you want to push me away?"

"Push you away? Why would I want to push you away, I love you! You're my girlfriend; she's just a girl in my class!"

I guess I thought you were going too…" _What? Apologize? Grow up? Propose? Give me thirty seconds and I'll do all three. _"It doesn't matter; I'm going to go I don't feel well."

"No, Mary Jane, wait!"

"_Please_ don't follow me." Great. Now she was probably going to call me the next morning saying she was in love with Harry and was breaking up with me. The way my luck was going, I wouldn't be surprised if that happened.


	3. Sometimes The Best Isn't Good Enough

Sometimes the Best Isn't Good Enough

_Nothing else mattered._

I always thought if MJ broke up with me, nothing would matter but getting her back. I mean, she's my girl, right? And I was right, sort of. But since I've been wearing this black suit, things have really come into perspective. It _shouldn't _matter.

Mary Jane obviously didn't care about me, so what am I supposed to do, chase after her like some pathetic school boy? No. I'm gonna make her feel like I feel right now. All, the hurt, the anger, the _pain_ that came with knowing there was someone else. Know how it felt to have the walls come crashing down.

_Nothing else matters._

But for some reason, it didn't feel so good after I did it. I felt some of my old Parker conscience coming back, telling me all about how wrong this was, why couldn't I think of anyone but myself, blah blah blah. But for some reason, that felt right, like he was supposed to feel that way.

_Yeah right._

Still, I suppose I owe it to her to say _something,_ even if I'm not entirely sure what. So I walked over to her.

"Hey."

_Why am I doing this again?_

_Because it's right._

"What's wrong with you?" Oh, that's the way she was gonna play it. So it's okay for her to rub in my face how I'm never there for her, and **the other guy** **Harry** is, and I can't even dance with one girl in front of her? Why that…

"You."

Some punk manager decided to shove his nose in my business then. "Can I help you, sir?"

"No." I put as much 'go away' in that as possible, but apparently not enough, or maybe to much, 'cause the bouncer came over then.

"Everything okay here, Paul?"

Oh he thinks he's so big and bad, huh? Well, in the face of Spider-Man, he's a dust mite.

"Yeah, everything okay here, Paul?"

"Take him out of here."

The bouncer, who I'm starting to like less and less, took me by the arm.

_Bad move. _

"Let's go, sir."

"Take your hand off me."

"Now."

And suddenly, it all boiled over. The pain, the anger, the _hurt_ that I'd been feeling lately just boiled over. I know I was beating up the bouncer jerk, but I didn't realize I'd actually hit MJ until…

_Until it was too late._

Until she was laying on the floor looking up at me with those wounded eyes. I knew that gaze. I'd seen it in the mirror before.

_I've actually broken her heart._

"Who are you?"

It was a good question. One I didn't have an answer for. One I hadn't had the answer to for a very long time.

"I- I don't know."

And so I ran. I didn't know where I was running, but I had to be far away from here.

I needed to be alone.


End file.
